FSU football (13-0) had a new precedent set Sunday afternoon when they became the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion left out of the College Football Playoffs.
It’s something the talking heads at ESPN have been pushing for weeks, especially once FSU quarterback Jordan Travis got hurt and was lost for the season.
Jordan Travis is one of the biggest reasons the Noles had won 19 consecutive games and were 4-0 against the SEC over the last two years.
Did losing Jordan Travis change FSU’s offense? Absolutely, but did FSU find ways to win the rest of its games, including Louisville, the No. 14 team nationally?
They sure did, and put up more offensive yardage than Michigan did against a suspect Iowa program in their conference championship.
In fact, Louisville would wreck Iowa if they matched up. Oh wait, I just became the College Football Playoff committee for a second. It was clear a lot of the people at ESPN and other networks had an agenda to find a way to get a SEC team in the playoff.
Here are three ramifications FSU could face because of that decision.
Recruiting
FSU football has done a wonder job blending transfer portal recruiting with high school recruiting. One of the recruiting pitches Mike Norvell and the coaching staff could use when talking with top recruits is the opportunity to win a national championship.
It’s one of the reasons they got top transfer portal prospect Keon Coleman this summer, and Coleman is a large reason FSU didn’t lose a game this season.
I believe you can win a national title at FSU, but how the College Football Playoff Committee has reacted to FSU the last two times they’ve been in the mix is appalling. In 2014:
Why such sensitivity from FSU fans. If you win out you'll be IN the top 4 regardless. Who cares who's 1 or 2. Goal is to FINISH in top 4!
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 12, 2014
They placed an undefeated team that had won 29 consecutive games as the No. 4 seed and made them travel to the West Coast. This 2023 FSU team has won 19 straight dating back to last year, and they don’t make the playoff.
Can Mike Norvell really sell the opportunity to elite players that they can win a national title the same way he did before it happened? I can hear teams in the SEC recruiting against FSU telling recruits that would never happen to them, and they’d be right.
We have to remember most high school kids don’t think with rationale and logic. They often don’t have great support systems to guide them. It may not be a huge factor, but it’s still another obstacle FSU will have to overcome.
The 12-team playoff doesn’t completely solve the issue either. If you are worthy of a top four spot and the committee feels like they can put you at No. 7 or something dumb, that’s not going to give the team the best path to a title, unlike if they were in the top four like they should be.
Bowl Game Narrative
The Noles will play Georgia in the Orange Bowl, and talking heads are already putting narratives out there. If FSU believes they should be in the College Football Playoff, they’ll beat Georgia. It doesn’t work that way.
If FSU beats Georgia, they won’t win anything. FSU isn’t UCF and would not try to claim some fictional national title. For one, why would players like Jared Verse and others that will likely get drafted high by NFL teams have any incentive to prove anything else?
If those guys opt out, that’s a disadvantage to FSU. If Georgia beats FSU with guys sitting out, then it’s we told you FSU didn’t deserve it.
Georgia has a lot of guys that will get drafted. If FSU players don’t opt out and beat a Georgia team with guys that didn’t play?
It’ll be they didn’t beat the real Georgia team, or Georgia was not motivated to win. It’s a no-win situation for FSU.
Mike Norvell
Listen, I think Mike Norvell loves it at FSU. He knows he has turned this program around and is building FSU into a program that will be among the top programs nationally every season. However, did this snub by the committee affect how Mike Norvell may view the job at FSU?
Does he take a step back and question if FSU can legitimately win a national title? If it’s a 12-team playoff and FSU is in the same position two years from now, would they be the No. 5 seed again instead of one of the top four teams with a bye-week?
Mike Norvell is a coach who will always be near the top of the list for major jobs with a head coach vacancy. If a team that has the potential to win a national title came after Norvell in the next couple of years, did this change his perception of the job?
Would he listen a bit more intently to a team like that, who’s offering more money and resources that’s in the SEC or B1G? The committee has relegated FSU to a sub-par conference, even if defeated with wins over SEC teams.
I’m sure FSU is looking to get out of the ACC, but how much longer will that take? An exit in the next couple of years may be the only thing that could nullify this issue.